Captives’ 100th Day Comes And Goes Hutchings, Fellow Hostages Believed Safe, But Communication Has Dried Up

Somewhere in the Himalayas, apparently safe but possibly not in perfect health, Spokane psychologist Donald Hutchings passed his 100th day in captivity this week.

Back in Spokane, friends, colleagues and former patients continue to wait for some word - any word - that his kidnappers in Kashmir will release him.

“A lot of people have called and wondered what they can do,” said James Roubos, a psychologist who is handling calls to Hutchings’ practice. “None of us are in a position where we can do much.”

They can, and sometimes do, call Rep. George Nethercutt or Sens. Slade Gorton and Patty Murray. But representatives for those officials can only relay the information from the U.S. State Department that everything that can be done is being done.

A little-known militant group, Al Faran, kidnapped Hutchings, two Britons and a German in early July. Hutchings’ wife, Jane Schelly, was held overnight then released.

Roubos scans the newspaper and CNN for news of the hostage situation every day, and believes many of Hutchings friends and colleagues do the same.

Hutchings has practiced in Spokane for at least 10 years, and has seen hundreds of patients over that time, Roubos said. His specialty is neuropsychology, and he evaluates and recommends treatment for people who suffer severe head injuries.

“He’s very well-liked and respected by his patients,” Roubos said. Some worry that he has been injured or fallen ill while in captivity.

Schelly, a physical education teacher at Arlington Elementary School, has stayed in India awaiting Hutchings’ release.

She remains on emergency leave, said a spokesman for the Spokane School District. The school intends to keep her position open, filling it with a temporary replacement, until she returns.

The Indian government is taking the lead in negotiating for the hostages’ release. On Wednesday, Indian officials said they had not heard from the guerrillas for three weeks, but had intelligence reports from last week indicating the hostages were alive.

“Our information so far is that the hostages are safe,” D.D. Saklani, an adviser to the Jammu-Kashmir government, told a group of New Delhi-based military attaches from 19 countries.

Early in the kidnapping, guerillas released a picture that showed Hutchings with a bandage around his stomach and said he had been wounded in a shootout with government troops. Later, however, the kidnappers said the hostages were well.

According to a report last month, guerrillas had taken paramedics from some Kashmiri villages to examine the hostages, and reported three were suffering from snow-blindness and one was ill. The Indian government later said that wasn’t true.

At one point the Indian government apparently offered to pay for the release of the hostages. But the guerrillas held fast to their demand that rebels being held in Indian jails be released in exchange for the hostages.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Jim Camden Staff writer The Associated Press contributed to this report.